Ornamentation of walls



M. B. CHURCH. ORNAMENTATION 0F WALLS.

(No Model.)

No. 437,095. Patented Sept. 23. 1890;

J 6 r/ a) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MELVIN B. CHURCH, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

ORNAMENTATION OF WALLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,095, dated September 23, 1890. Application filed December 12, 1889. Serial No. 333,518. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MELVIN "B. CHURCH, of Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ornamentation of Walls; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of the same.

My invention relates to wall-finish of that class in which the ornamentation is wrought upon the wall while the material is in aplastic condition.

It consists in the mode of operation and in ;he peculiar and improved finish of the surace.

Heretofore Various kinds of stippling work and raised and sunken portions have been formed upon the surface of the walls of rooms, and particularly walls have been ornamented while the material was in plastic condition by raising certain portions; but, so far as I am aware, by the process heretofore employed the lower or sunken portions have been left in a rough condition; and the object of my invention is to produce a new and improved surface consisting of sharp raised portions and of smooth sunken portions intermediate between the sharp raised portions.

The form of the wall-finish is shown in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 represents a surface in plan, and Fig. 2 a section of the same.

In carrying my invention into practice I use, preferably, the kind of wall-finish heretofore used by me in various ways, the base of the finish being calcined gypsum ground to a very fine condition and reduced to a proper consistency by the addition of water. This is known in the trade as plastico. It is laid on the surface in the manner well known to skilled workmen.

In producing my peculiar ornamentation I take a block, preferably of wood, having a plain working-surface. The block may be of any convenient size for handling. This block I place against the wall with its working-face in contact with the material upon the wall while said material is in a soft and plastic condition. The block is then worked or moved back and forth by a kind of side movement well known to workmen in order to cause it to fit closely and exclude the air, so that every part will be in contact with the plastic or soft material upon the surface. I then gently draw the block off from the surface in line of movement substantially at right angles to said surface, which raises up from the surface sharp thin lines of the softer plastic material, leaving smooth spaces beween said raised portions.

If I desire to make very fine work, I use a block having a very smooth surface, and it is better in this case if the block be of flexible material, so as to fit snugly and readily to the inequalities of the surface to which it is applied. It the raised portions are to be of larger and higher dimensions, I use a working-surface somewhat rougher; but in both cases manipulate the block in the way heretofore described. This produces sharp ridges and smooth intermediate spaces irregularly and gives a pleasing effect very much desired.

As represented in the drawings, 0. indicates the thin sharp ridges heretofore referred to, and b the small intermediate spaces. The direction of the ridges, and consequently the boundaries of the smooth intermediate spaces, vary indefinitely, and while there is general uniformity of appearance in the surface there is every conceivable variety of detail.

The surface so made without additional finish presents an improved and better appearance. It is also better fitted to receive bronze, gold-leaf, or varnish, and on such a surface these may be directly applied as well as if the surface of the plastic finish had been rubbed smooth.

I claim as my invention- The hereinbefore-described mode of orna- Inenting surfaces, the same consisting in first applying a soft plastic material to said wall, and then in applying thereto a block while the material is soft or plastic, and then drawing the block off from the surface in line of movement substantially at right angles to said surface, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MELVIN B. CHURCH. 

